Friday, February 7, 2020

Road Trip Poem

The Cabin at the Lake
A Poetic Memoir

The girls were still dreaming when we started the drive
“Are we there yet?” asks Lizzie, at only 6:35
Wide-eyed with excitement, their faces all aglow
Mom smiles, “Not yet honey - only ten more hours to go!

Breakfast at McDonalds and we continue en route
Lunch at Subway - but the ice machine was out.
Dad lets mom drive, but as soon as the car goes,
It starts to rain on us, all the way to Fargo!

We stop for gas and snacks, and we make the final call
The Stewarts will indeed arrive in good time after all.
There was excitement in the air, as if right on cue,
As we pulled into the drive of Cable Lake 132.

Aunt Shari and Uncle Brad greet us, with a big hug and a smile
Instantly our 12-hour journey was more than made worthwhile.
But little did we know just how much the week would hold
From the perspective of the twins, this is how it all unfolds:

Inside the cabin, we couldn’t believe what our eyes fell on…
A cat named Gingey-pants?! And doggies, Bella & Zoey bon-bon!
They were the best pets ever, even if Bella liked to bark,
And outside was a lake with our very own sandy beach park.

We splashed in the water, finding rocks both pointy and round,
We spent hours exploring the lakeside, many treasures were found.
Drawing in the sand with sticks was fun, and making sandcastles too…
But the most fun was getting to know a great aunt and uncle like YOU!

We’ll never forget the paddle boat rides with the doggies and Aunt Shari
Or eating that yummy trifle dessert with angel food cake and berries.
Learning to play “concentration poker” was also very neat
And sipping that special caramel-“coffee” Italian soda treat!

It was also fun helping Uncle Brad rake and water that big ole pile of dirt
And yelling “Uncle Brad is Naked!” when we found him without his shirt!
Nothing made us laugh as hard as tipping Aunt Shari over and over again,
Although throwing wet bath buddies at Uncle Brad certainly made us grin!

We got to meet new friends too - frogs, chipmunks, turtles big and small,
But our favorite was the bobble-head owls, who we loved most of all!
From laying on the “floating table” and eating pudding on the dock,
We loved the Cabin at the Lake - our great aunt and uncle really rock!

In much the same fashion as it all began, the girls were dreaming on our way back home,
Smiling as they played with *Tuesday* no doubt, and “kitty in the hammock” from Joan’s!
Oh, the stories they will have to tell later-on when they awake,
Of the many adventures we had together at The Cabin at the Lake.

Thanks so much for your hospitality and for allowing us to spend time together as a family for an entire week at your cabin.  It was a trip we will always treasure!

Love,
Jenn, Bret, and the girls

*Tuesday was Joan’s dog.* 😊

The Rest of the Story

When the twins were about two or three-years-old, we decided to take a road trip to visit my aunt and uncle who had a lakeside cabin in Minnesota. To this day, I’m surprised we managed to take that long of a road trip with kids that young. However, it was truly a magical week for our entire family. We had many adventures and misadventures along the way. When we got home, I wanted to do something more than send a simple thank you card for their gracious hospitality. That’s when the idea of documenting our trip through verse came to mind.

Everything you read about in the above poem is true. We left early in the morning when it was still dark outside, and the twins were still sleeping. Twin B indeed woke up at 6:35 am and asked if we were there yet! My husband was irked that the ice machine was out at Subway when we stopped for lunch, and I ended up being the lucky one to drive in the rain all the way to Fargo. Looking back, I’m not sure I would have remembered any of those details had I not documented them in this poem.

Once the poem was written, I printed it out on a nice cardstock with a scenic view of the surrounding vegetation in that area. I then had it framed and sent it to my aunt and uncle in the mail. They LOVED the thank you gift. It was so fun for them to reminisce about our time together long after we had gone. To my knowledge, the poem is still hung up on the wall somewhere in their cabin at the lake.

In the case of this particular poem, the meter and flow are not as precise as something like my Sprinkled With Love poem. Rather than worry about that too much, I decided it was okay if it wasn’t “just right.” It was more important for me to tell the story of our trip that would memorialize it for years to come.

Have you ever enjoyed a special vacation together as a family? Has anyone ever lent you their home while you were traveling? What did you do to thank them?

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